The future development of
the Darebin Creek Linear Park
will be guided by strategies
identified by the Darebin Creek Management
Plan and Melbourne Water's Darebin Creek Waterway
Activity Plan and achieved through projects co-ordinated and/or undertaken by the Darebin Creek Management Committee. Projects are developed with the community and funded by grants.
Some projects are on-going while others have clear start and finish dates. Developing
a regionally significant Linear
Parkland for the use of the
public is achieved
through a number of initiatives
including the continuation
of the Darebin Shared Trail
from Alphington to the Yarra
River. A continual process
of ensuring the current linear
parklands are managed for both weed control
and the protection and enhancement
of existing native vegetation.
Commonwealth Games
In achieveing carbon neutral Commonwealth Games, one million trees and shrubs will be planted in Victoria. The first of a million trees was planted by Justin Madden, Commonwealth Games Minister along the Darebin Creek in Thornbury in December 2004. In July 2005 volunteers planted 2000 trees and shrubs with the assistance of the Banyule and Darebin Councils, Greening Australia, the Commonwealth Games and the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority.
Community Awareness
Raising the profile of the Darebin Creek as a significant urban and rural waterway is being achieved through a number of initiatives including this updated web site, improved signage and logos, the production of new brochures and a significant increase in media promotion.
Committee staff support to encourage community involvement in a variety of activities and issues.
Providing an environmental education program, the Darebin Parklands caters for over 8000 students per year while co-ordination staff work with local schools to promote sustainable practices, plant native gardens and increase litter awareness.
Educating the community and industry about stormwater pollution and the effects of littering.
Developing a range of literature for use by the public including fact sheets on a number of interest areas such as flora, fauna, history, impacts on the creek, and geology.
Creek Restoration
A major creek restoration
project was completed in 2001
at Bundoora which aimed to
increase fish migrating upstream
as well as improve water quality
and the creek's aesthetics.
Two main features of this
project was to remove a severe
concrete drop and create a
fish ladder to improve fish
migration through a section
of the creek near Heidelberg
Road. The second part of this
creek rehabilitation project
was to recreate a 900 metre
section of the creek from
a channel to a riffle pool
zone. Restoring the creek
in these sections creates
both fast and slow sections
of running water to provide
habitat for various macro-invertebrates
and small water animals.
For further information
on any of these projects,
please contact
the Darebin Creek Management
Committee.
Darebin Creek Shared Trail
The
Darebin Creek Management Committee
has a major role in the co-ordination
of the Darebin Creek Shared
Trail which has been funded
by Parks Victoria, Darebin
City Council and Banyule City
Council. This role is to ensure
that the appropriate environmental
measures are taken during
the construction of the Shared
Trail, apply for
funding from various Government bodies, assist with project development and creek related construction issues. Stage One of this project was completed in August 2004. Stage Two has secured funding and plannng approval and constrctution began in July 2007. Stage 3 is expected to enter the planning stage in late 2007.
The Darebin Creek Management
Committee has also assisted
Parks Victoria in securing
open space linkages through
land negotiations to allow
the passage of the Shared
Trail and create a complete
network of linear parklands
along the Darebin Creek.
Grassy Woodlands
The Darebin Creek Valley continues to be planted with indigenous species to reinstate the original vegetation. The Darebin Creek Manangement Committee works with landholders in the Upper Darebin Catchment to protect remnant Grassy Woodland communities securing government funding. Schools, universities, local community groups and land holders planted 5500 indigenous plants on private land to increase the biodiversity of the Darebin Creek catchment as well as providing new habitat areas to link remnant vegetation.This project is currently in Stage 2 and involves over 10 landholders planting 2500 indigenous trees and shrubs.
Litter
The Darebin Creek Mangement Committee works closely with local government, Ecorecycle, Melbourne Water, the Northern Regional Waste Management Group and the Australian Retailers Association to reduce litter entering the Darebin Creek. Northland Shopping Centre and the East Preston Islamic College have also been involved in the "Don't Waste Darebin Creek" project in the East Preston area to raise awareness of the Darebin Creek and reduce litter and dumping of shopping trolleys. For more information on the Northland Litter Project click here.
Nesting Boxes
The implementation of a wildlife nesting box program has been initiated with success at various locations within the catchment. This program will soon be upgraded through monitoring and identification of current nest box sites and use, installing new boxes to consolidate these areas and provide new habitats in bare areas. The Friends of the Darebin Creek recently held a nest box making workshop. The nest boxes will be installed along the Darebin Creek.
Gutterguard Installation
Gross litter traps have been installed throughout the urban catchment through discussions with Melbourne Water and the City of Banyule and Darebin. This includes a number of side entry litter traps (litter traps that are placed in the pit beside the road so when litter is thrown onto streets and gutters it gets collected as the water enters the drain). The Darebin Creek Management Committee has also been involved in negotiations to place Floating Pollutant Traps (FPT's) on the Darebin Creek and are in the process of installing over 60 Gutter Guards in Banyule and Darebin City Councils in the vicinity of Preston and Heidelberg. The gutter guards are a series of stainless steel bars that are fitted in front of a drain to prevent litter entering the stormwater system from the road. This litter is then collected by Council street sweeping trucks.
Pollution Signs
In a project similar to the gutterguard installation, the DCMC is coordinating a project with the Friends of Darebin Creek, Darebin Parklands Association, Environment Protection Authority, and is funded through Melbourne Water and Darebin City Council. This project focusses on pollution 
spills into the Darebin Creek with the aim to make reporting these incidents easier for the general public. A series of small signs have been developed and will be installed at twenty two locations along the Creek between Lower Heidelberg Road Alphington and McKimmes Road Bundoora at entry points to stormwater drains. These drains have been specifically choosen as major contributors to pollution incidents. Each small sign has a unique drain identification number and the phone number of EPA Victoria's pollution hotline, if people notice colored liquid, foam of other pollutants flowing into the creek, they can call the EPA and report their observation quoting the location number printed on the sign.
A small flyer has also been produced and distributed to local residents, walkers, cyclists and other users of the Darebin Creek Trail to promote the signs and encourage the general public to report their observations. Once the EPa has been notified, they are bale to reference the individual drain through a new database that has been created specifically for the Darebin Creek.
These projects are on-going in an attempt to improve water quality and reduce the amount of litter and pollutants entering the Creek.
In September 2006 a review of the signs was carried out, to determine the condition of both the sign itself and the drains concerned. Discussions with the EPA after this 12 month period indicate a reasonable number of reports have included drain reference numbers and it is assumed that with replacement signs being installed that the number of drain reference reports will increase. The EPA are satisfied with the system and a number of other agencies and Councils have contacted DCMC and expressed interest in installing a similar system on their local waterways. The results of the review are as follows:
- Of the 20 signs erected, eleven had either been removed or washed away, one was covered in graffiti on both sides rendering it unreadable (drain #8), and eight were in good, readable condition.
- On the sites where signage was missing, no signs were replaced or found within the vicinity of the area. To make sure a secondary site visit was conducted to cover a wider search area around the drain.
- The sign covered in graffiti is totally unreadable and will need to be replaced.
- Many of the drains were overgrown with plant-life, though in some cases this appeared to benefit in the coverage of the concrete outlet.
- Drains 78 and 112 had a large amount of graffiti on their concrete structure giving them an increased "ugly" appearance.
- A couple of drains had fallen logs on top of them. One was removed, but the log on drain 19 may need to be removed.
- Shopping trolleys were found in drains 67 and 131. Trolleys were removed from 67, but access to 131 was difficult and therefore trolleys still remain there.
- Although drain 100 was large and contained some rubbish, a high amount of birdlife was witnessed.
- Drain 78 (Clough Pde.) should be considered a problem drain. Along with being overgrown, it contained large amounts of graffiti, household rubbish, and car parts and bumper bars.
- Drain 108 (Lalor drain) should also be considered a problem drain. It contained large amounts of household rubbish such as lampshades, folding chairs and children's toys. This is presumably from nearby houses that back onto the drain area.
- Little difference was noted at drain 101 (no sign, test case) in relation to drains that had signage.
Future Projects
Some programs planned for the
next few years are:
- Assistance in the development
of the Darebin Creek Shared
Trail from Epping to the
Main Yarra Trail including
the completion of missing
sections, construction of
several bridges, securing
funding and negotiating
land acquisitions.
- Restoration of native
grasslands, grassy woodland
communities, and rocky escarpments
in the LaTrobe Grasslands.
